4 tips to strengthen your incentive programs amid rising inflation

Additionally, your organization may have already felt these changes in operational expenses. Perhaps you’re thinking that it might be time to revisit your employee engagement programs and do some cost-cutting. Rightly so—but before you do that, read on. You might be cost-cutting at the expense of employee welfare, which can eventually cost you more in the long run.

Remember that your employees are also suffering the brunt of this economic burden.

In these tough times, your people need to know that you care for their needs too, beyond the numbers they crunch in.

Why strengthening your incentive program still matters

Morale and motivation are twins. One study has found that companies who have a strong culture of recognition on average are 12x more likely to generate business results. Employees who feel more appreciated will turn in quality work. On the other hand, employees who have low morale and motivation experienced increased feelings of self-doubt, which negatively affected output.

Is it still possible to cut down costs for incentive programs?

Short answer: yes. Customizing your reward offerings is key. Here are some things to consider:

• Revisit organizational priorities and KPIs: make sure that these are still realistic and relevant to the current environment. You might need to adjust your scorecards for different line items, while still leaving room for growth and profit.

• Be flexible: incentives should not just be confined to monetary rewards or adjusting bonus structures. They can cater more to employees’ personal needs too. Things like allowing more days for remote work (studies have found that employees are productive even while working remotely) or personal recognition during town halls can also boost morale and productivity.
• Consider a point system: not all rewards are equal. Make your incentive programs more interactive and challenging by determining the key milestones one must achieve to receive certain rewards.
• Switch to digital: shipping out physical incentives can increase your logistical and storage costs. Earlier, we talked about transportation being one of the segments affected by rising inflation. By letting your rewards go completely digital, you save up more.

As the leading provider of employee incentives, we can help make your employees feel seen and heard with digital rewards with our digital GCs. The best part? Our wide merchant network nationwide ensures access to leading groceries, pharmacies, retail stores, and many more.

Don’t let the rising inflation result in higher attrition rates. Fight your employees’ fight, and they’ll fight yours.